Kano model

Many improvement projects aim to raise customer satisfaction. To do that, you first need to know which attributes of a product or service make a customer satisfied, and how well you currently deliver them. The Kano model helps you map this out.

Origin of the Kano model

The model is named after its creator, the Japanese professor Noriaki Kano, who published it in 1984. It is based on the idea that customers have different kinds of expectations. Some attributes of a product or service they take for granted, while others make a big difference to how satisfied they are.

Three types of attributes

The Kano model distinguishes three main types of attributes. The image at the top of this article shows how satisfaction moves with the degree to which each type of attribute is present.

1. Basic attributes (must-be): customers take these for granted. Having them adds no extra satisfaction. Missing them makes the customer dissatisfied straight away. Example: in a hotel room you expect a clean bed and hot water.
2. Performance attributes (more is better): customers expect these, and the better or the more, the more satisfied they are. Example: the size of the room or how fast check-in goes.
3. Delighters (attractive): customers don’t expect these, but they create enthusiasm when present. When missing, nobody misses them. Example: a personal, handwritten welcome note in the room.

The model also has two more types. Indifferent attributes don’t matter to the customer, so there is no need to invest in them. With reverse attributes, the customer is actually dissatisfied when they are present, such as a room full of gadgets for a guest looking for peace and quiet.

Note that attributes shift over time. Today’s delighter becomes tomorrow’s performance attribute and later a basic one. Free wifi in a hotel was once a surprise; now it is taken for granted. That is why you should repeat a Kano analysis regularly.

A Kano analysis in 3 steps

1. Talk to the customer

In practice, customer needs are often a matter of assumptions. We think we know what drives customers and how they experience a product or service. Customer satisfaction surveys come in all shapes and sizes, but not every survey shows what the customer really values. So talk to the customer, for example in interviews or focus groups, and collect the attributes that matter. This can be an external, paying customer or an internal one.

2. Ask two questions per attribute

The Kano questionnaire asks two questions per attribute: a positive one (how do you feel if the attribute is present?) and a negative one (how do you feel if it is not?). For both, the customer chooses from five answers: I like it, I expect it, I am neutral, I can live with it or I dislike it. The combination of the two answers determines the type of attribute in a fixed table.

This is one of the tools you learn to apply in the Green Belt training.

In the example, the guest likes having a coffee maker and is neutral if there isn’t one. That makes it a delighter. Someone who expects the coffee maker and dislikes it when it is missing sees it as a basic attribute.

3. Count the results and plot them

For each attribute, count how often each type occurs; the type mentioned most often determines the classification. Also ask how well you currently deliver the attribute. That gives you an overview of customer needs and of how well you meet them today.

Prioritising with the Kano model

The Kano model also helps you put improvements in order:

1. Get the basic attributes right first. As long as something goes wrong there, no extra will make the customer satisfied.
2. Then the performance attributes the customer values most. Every improvement there adds satisfaction directly.
3. Then a few targeted delighters. They set you apart from competitors and increase customer loyalty.

Basic attributes are often translated into CTQs, the measurable requirements the process must meet. Other ways to map customer needs are the customer journey and the SERVQUAL model.

The video with this article gives a short explanation of the Kano model and how companies apply it.